This invention relates to inducing spawning and reproduction in shellfish such as abalone, and is particularly directed to a simple inexpensive readily controlled and safe chemical process for the above purpose.
The development of "mariculture" has thus far been unable to significantly increase the availability of affordable meat protein for most of the people of the world. This is largely because present shcemes for the necessary control of reproduction and morality of the animals under cultivation are often expensive. As a result, shellfish such as the crustacea and molluscs currently produced under cultivation are sold, for the most part, as luxury foods unavailable to the bulk of the population.
Although the marine invertebrate animals constitute a vast and protein-rich food resource, control of their reproduction remains one of the principal barriers to the economical cultivation of these animals for human consumption. Accordingly, scientists have begun to investigate chemical means for controlling the reproduction and early development of the abalone, a large herbivorous marine snail (molluscan gastropod) valued as a highly palatable source of meat-protein in parts of the United States, Mexico, Australia, Africa, China, and Japan.
Kikuchi and Uki, as reported in "Bull, Tokuku Fish, Res. Lab." 33, 69-78 (1974), demonstrated induction of spawning in abalones and other molluscs exposed to seawater which has been irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) light.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and inexpensive, easily controlled and safe chemical method for inducing spawning and reproduction in shellfish such as abalones, and the like.